Lamar Odom

Team USA is filled with hyper-athletic and versatile players, but the squad’s greatest strength is not its speed, its leaping ability, or the varied skill sets of its players. Above all else, the Americans’ greatest asset is their depth. While a team like Spain may have as many as eight NBA-caliber players, the American squad…

Well, they’re not blowing teams out by 40. But for a team that many had significant doubts about heading into the FIBA World Championships, Team USA is doing pretty well for itself. Team USA ran out to a 14-4 lead and never looked back in a 99-77 win over Slovenia Sunday in Istanbul (not Constantinople). …

Well, that was… not a basketball game. It was for a good quarter. Croatia’s national team actually held a 19-18 lead on Team USA early in their opener of FIBA play. And then, well, Team USA showed that stars or no stars, they have talent, they are prepared, and they can absolutely dominate over lesser…

Previously I cautioned not to draw too many conclusions from the USA Basketball victory over Greece Wednesday. Greece sat its two best inside players, the USA quickly went deep into the bench and both teams kept it simple, trying not to tip their hand in the event of any future meetings. Andre Iguodala, however, saw…

Now that Team USA’s roster is finalized, it’s time to break down exactly what each of Team USA’s 12 players will be asked to do. Some members of Team USA are simply acting as an extension of their NBA selves, but others have seen their responsibilities shift due to the team’s needs, the overall makeup…

Both Team USA and the Spanish national team were reluctant to reveal their full arsenals, but today’s friendly between the two FIBA powerhouses was easily the Americans’ most entertaining exhibition yet. Neither squad was flawless in their execution, but Team USA’s quality performance against their top opponent in the World Championships (even if Spain wasn’t…

That was almost very very bad. Team USA played disastrously bad against Lithuania for a half, trailing by multiple scores before turning the jets on in the second half and riding their athleticism to a 77-61 win Sunday afternoon. The big problem for Team USA? You can take your pick, but shooting is likely the…

Le odor de Odom. When you’re a hot celebrity couple and you attach your name to something and people will buy it. Regardless. For example, Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are teaming up on a unisex fragrance. I couldn’t make this stuff up. Kardashian confirmed it to the New York Daily News (via the fashionista…

Variations of this theme seem to play out wherever Caron Butler goes. Last season heading into the playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks looked like the team ready to test the Lakers. Dallas was the two seed, they had won 7 of 10 including five in a row. There was a quiet, veteran confidence around the team.…

UPDATE 8:30 pm: Looks like when Team USA hops on a plane for exhibition “friendlies” in Europe next week, they will bring more than the 12 they can suit up in Turkey. That’s what Coach K told ESPN: “The chances of us having more than 12 on the plane Monday are good, but it may…

On June 17, Lamar Odom walked off the floor at Staples Center after Game 7 of the NBA finals. Tuesday was the first time he walked back on one. After the first day of USA Basketball camp in Vegas, Odom admitted to FanHouse he has taken the last month off to enjoy life. And enjoying…

Some pundits (and a few of the NBA’s advanced stats community) are pretty willing to hand the Larry O’Brien Trophy to the Miami Heat. The other 29 teams, not so much. Actually, make that 30. Because Dwyane Wade doesn’t even think the Heat are the favorites, as he said before his charity golf event to…

A collection of thoughts on Lakers-Celtics Game 6… You’re all familiar with “Tremors“, right? Classic mid-90’s comedy horror film about gigantic sand-worm-like creatures that come up from the ground and suck people into the earth, eating them? Yeah, the Lakers were a lot like that tonight. They overwhelmed Boston from the beginning, and you could…

Something about home cooking. Does the bench body good. There’s been a high level of complexity to the results of the NBA finals thus far. Everything from the Lakers’ ball movement to the Celtics rebounding have influenced the outcome. But a consistent factor in deciding these games has been the output of the respective benches.…

What do you do when things aren’t working? Because things are not working for the Lakers. In a series that was going to be decided inside, Boston is wining the war. The Lakers shot just 47 percent (8 of 17) at the rim last game. That is 47 percent on layups and tip ins. The…

This time, there may actually be a reason for Lamar Odom’s quiet night. Odom started feeling sick with flu-like symptoms on Saturday and did not feel better during his 8-point performance in Game 5 Sunday. He hoped to be felling better for Game 6, he told Lisa Dillman at the Los Angeles Times. “I haven’t…

Late in the fourth quarter of Game 5, Kobe Bryant stepped away from the free throw line when a fan threw something on the court almost hitting Lamar Odom. Stay classy, Boston. So what was it? The Riverside Press-Enterprise asked Odom (via SLAM). “It looked like a vodka bottle,” said Odom, indicating that it was…

A collection of thoughts on Lakers-Celtics Game 5: Ron Artest and Derek Fisher were a combined 4-18. Let’s just let that one sit for a minute. And what’s even more stunning, Artest my have actually played worse than his shooting line indicates. At one point, he pulled off another I made the comment during the…

Kobe Bryant’s third quarter was transcendent. It was simply brilliant individual basketball. He nailed a series of shots that literally, only he can make. He was incredible in turning low percentage shots into conversions time and time again. One handed runners falling out of bounds? Terrific. A near 28 foot three? Money. It was as…

Andrew Bynum is going to play. He had his knee drained of more fluid, and he is in the full “I will play through the pain” warrior mode we fans expect from athletes. He will be in the Lakers starting five tonight. But he was out on the court Thursday night, too. For all of…

Lamar Odom is a perplexing player. He possesses an enviable skill set and considerable talent, but after a career’s worth of opportunities, roles, teams, and coaches, no one has quite found the magic button that would turn Odom into a superstar. Juxtapose the ongoing Odom conundrum with Andrew Bynum, who is more of a conventional…

Make no mistake — Big Baby slobbered. He drooled. Just like a baby. On national television. For all the cameras to catch. He doesn’t really care. And if he can play like that again in Game 5, the entire city of Boston will drool right along with him. (I think the Southies already do.) “Let…

Andrew Bynum has been key for the Lakers this series, occupying and scoring some on Kendrick Perkins on offense (so Perk isn’t pushing Pau Gasol around) and protecting the rim on defense. He is the key reason the Celtics are shooting below 50 percent at the rim — on layups and putbacks — in the…

A collection of thoughts on Game 3 between the L.A. Lakers and Boston Celtics: So here’s the trick. I need to somehow convey that the Celtics and Ray Allen didn’t fail tonight necessarily without sacrificing the respect the Lakers’ defense earned in defending Jesus Shuttlesworth. You see, to say the Lakers shut him down would…

If you told Celtics fans before the game that Kevin Garnett would have 15 first half points, they would have thought they would be destroying the Lakers and started celebrating. But the Celtics are down a dozen at the half, 52-40. Outside of Rajon Rondo (4-7) and KG (7-9) the Celtics are 5 of 24…